Boy Hit By Train Has Leg Amputated

Surgeons amputated the leg of a 12-year-old West Side boy just below the knee Monday after the youth was struck by a train near his home.

Police said Andre Moody, of 3851 W. Ogden Ave., was found with a seriously injured right leg at about 7 a.m. Monday on a railroad embankment near the 2200 block of South Hamlin Avenue.

Police said they have not yet determined when the boy was hit by the train, because the youth and his 15-year-old brother, Sterling, had been out all night. The injured boy told police that he was being chased by youths, but a detective said it was still unclear why he was on the embankment.

The boys` mother, Gloria Moody, told detectives that her sons sneaked out of the house Sunday night after she ordered them to stay inside, police said. She said she discovered that they were gone at about 10:30 p.m.

Residents living near the railroad embankment said they heard Andre calling for help about 7 a.m. and summoned a Chicago Fire Department ambulance when they discovered that the boy was injured.

The boy underwent surgery to remove the injured portion of his leg at Mt. Sinai Hospital. He was listed in satisfactory condition Monday night.

The railroad tracks where the accident occurred belong to the Burlington Northern Railroad, but a company spokesman said freight trains belonging to other lines such as Conrail and the Baltimore and Ohio also use one of the tracks.